Film processing apparatus



FILM PROCESSING APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTUR.

E250 "(GAGE BY u M 5 I ATTOR EY I: Q

Oct. 31, 1939. F, w GAGE 2,177,708

FILM PROCESS ING APPARATUS Filed July 5, 1938 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 I 26 Zr 24 f 25 FIIEZ f 33 2 4/ 40 I I0 E- 4 r. E w 60: g j m 35 r 29 E; ""I 6 as r I 72 37 I W/zm/ v ii ,4!!! m x I INVENTOR. Q50 W GAGE By M ATT RNEY Patented Oct. 31, 1939 FILM PROCESSING APPARATUS Fred W. Gage, Beverly Hills, Galifl, assignor to Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 5, 1938, Serial No. 217,453

11 Claims.

This invention relates to motion picture film processing apparatus and has particular reference to apparatus for washing motion picture v film and the like.

5 After exposed photographic film has been developed, fixed, and otherwise treated in the usual manner to render the latent image thereon visible, it is washed to remove the sodium thiosulphate and other chemicals with which the film was previously treated.

It has been discovered that the length of life of photographic film is dependent largely upon the thoroughness and care'exercised in washing the same to remove the various chemicals used in treating it, especially sodium thiosulphate, slnce any trace of this chemical causes deterioration of thefilm emulsion after a certain period of time. Furthermore, due to the fact that the sodium thiosulphate solution is absorbed through- 2 out the entire depth of the film emulsion, the

washing operation becomes an important factor in the successful treatment of film.

One object of the present invention is to thoroughly remove the various film treating chemicals, and chemicals caused by the reaction the amount of water or other washing fluid required to thoroughly wash the film after it has been developed, fixed, etc.

A further object of the invention is to treat that portion of a film about to leave a bath of film treating fiuid with the purest portion of such A further object of the invention is to facilitate filling a plurality of film treating tanks in which film treating liquid is passed in succession through the tanks'under pressure.

A still further object of the invention is to pass film treating fiuid serially from one tank to another under constant pressurewhile maintaining the same levels in all tanks.

A still further object of the invention is to pass film treating fluid from one film treating tank to a second while injecting the fluid in the second tank under pressure through jets.

jects of the'invention are accomplished will be readily understood on reference to the following specification read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

55 Fig. l is a diagrammatic elevational view of.a

A further object of the invention is to reduce film washing apparatus embodying the present invention. g

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of one of the film washing tanks and is taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1. 5

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, throughone of the jet tubes and manifold therefor.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the film washing apparatus comprises a series of washing tanks l0 0 to 2|, inclusive. A film 7, after passing through the usual developing and fixing baths, is serially passed through the tanks in the direction of the arrow A, from the tank In toward the tank 2|. Washing water is serially passed through groups 5 of the tanks ID to 2|, inclusive, in a manner described hereinafter, in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the film 1 whereby the portion of film about to emerge from the last tank or tanks comes in contact with the purest portion of the washing water. These varioustanks are aligned in a row and rest upon a foundation 22 with their upper ends at the same level. i i

As best shown in Fig. 2 each of the various tanks Ill to 2|, inclusive, is elongated vertically and isrectangular in cross section. A vertical rectangular frame 24 is provided in each tank and comprises spaced vertical guide channels 25 secured at their upper and lower ends to cross pieces 25 and 21, respectively. The various frames 24 are supported within their respective tanks by means of a horizontally extending channel member 39, extending longitudinally of the entire film washing apparatus, and suitably secured to the vertical channels 25 of each of the frames 24. Channel 21 rests upon and is suitably secured to an arm 28 supported at the upper end of a vertically extending post 29 which is embedded in a column 3|] forming part of the foundation 22. Duplicate channel supporting posts 29 (not shown) are spaced at different points along the film washing apparatus to support the, channel 39. i v

. Thefilm is guided in a sinuous path through each of the various tanks ID to 2|, inclusive, by

means of horizontally extending upper and lower spool heads 3| and 32, respectively. The upper spool head 3| is locked in a suitable manner to The manner in which the above and other ob-' the spaced vertical guide channels 25 adjacent the 5 top of its respective tank and has a series of film guiding spools, one of which is shown at 33, rotatably mounted thereon in horizontal alignment with each other. The lower spool head 32 also has a plurality of film guiding spools, one

of which is shown at 34, rotatably mounted thereon in horizontal alignment and is adapted to be moved in a vertical direction, being guided along the channels 25 by flanged rollers 1 and 3 provided on a cross head 9 at either end of spool head 32.

The film f is wound in a sinuous manner around the various upper and lower film guiding spools 33 and 34, respectively, to support the lower spool head 32, thereby maintaining the film within the respective tank in a taut condition. A roller 3% rotatably mounted on the lower end of a vertically extending rod 31 is interposed between adjacent strands of the loops of film 1 extending between the upper and lower spool heads 35 and 32, respectively, to prevent such strands from coming in contact with each other under the pressure of streams or jets of washing water impinging thereon in a manner described hereafter. Rod 31 is supported by means of a clamping bracket 38 secured to the horizontal channel 2?.

The film f on travelling from one tank to the next passes over film driving sprockets Q5 situated above each tank. Sprockets 46 are mounted on shafts ll, driven through gear transmission units 48, by a horizontally extending drive shaft Eil extending the entire length of the film wash-- ing apparatus. Shaft 50 is driven by a suitable motor (not shown) whereby the film is progressed at a constant speed through the various tanks It; to 2|, inclusive, in succession.

The above mentioned film driving and guiding mechanism is disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Albert W. Tondreau, S. N. 193,966, filed March 4, 1938, and the patent to A. W. Munson, No. 2,133,108, granted October 11, 1938.

The film washing water or fluid is supplied to to each tank through manifold and jet tube assemblies generally indicated at 46 (Figs. 2 and 3). As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 a horizontally extending manifold 4| is provided for each tank. Manifold 4t rests upon the upper edge of the forward wall d2 of the respective tank and supports within the tank a plurality of jet tubes, one of which is shown at A3. These various jet tubes extend vertically within the tank and communicate at their upper ends with the interior of the manifold 4 A number of jet orifices 44, 44', etc., are formed in each jet tube 43 to direct a stream of washing fluid passing therethrough onto the surface of the film as it passes in a plurality of loops through the respective film washing tank. The impinging of the streams of washing fluid upon the surface of the film f insures penetration of the fluid within the emulsion layer of the film to remove any chemical lodged therein. Furthermore, this action breaks up any surface drag of the fluid along the film which ordinarily prevents fresh portions of the fluid from coming in contact with the film surface.

The above mentioned manifold and jet tube assembly as well as the film strand separating roller 36 is disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application of A. W. Tondreau, S. N. 205,577

filed May 2, 1938.

As shown in Fig. l the various tanks H! to 2|, inclusive, are arranged in groups of four tanks each, there being three groups of tanks. The jet manifolds l! of the tanks l8 to 2|, inclusive, constituting the third group of tanks, are suitably connected to each other by means of hose couplings iii, 52 and 53. Water is supplied to this third group of tanks by a T-connection 54 inserted in the hose coupling 52 and connecting the same to a supply pipe line 56. Pipe line 56 is connected in a manner not shown to a suitable source of water supply under pressure. A pressure regulator system generally indicated at 5? is provided in the pipe line 56 to maintain the pressure of the water passing therethrough constant. This regulator system comprises a normally closed valve 58 and a pipe line 59 by-passing the same. An automatic pressure regulator 8|), a strainer iii, a zressure gauge 62 and valves 94 and 95 are inserted in the by-pass line 59. A second valve 63 is provided in the pipe line 56 intermediate the pressure regulator system 5! and the T-connection 5G to close off the pipe line 55. It will be noted from the foregoing that water under pressure is supplied concomitantly to the four tanks I8 to 2|, inclusive, when valve 63 is opened.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 an outlet connection 64% is provided for each of the tanks IE3 to 2|, inclusive. Outlet 64 is situated adjacent the top of the respective tank and may, if desired, serve as an overflow line. The outlet connections 64 of the third group of tanks l8 to 2|, inclusive, are connec ed together through a suction pipe line 66. Pipe line 65 is connected to the suction end 61 of a centrifugal pump 68. Pump 68 is directly connected to an electric motor 69 which is supplied with current by a motor circuit diagrammatically indicated at H! from a suitable source of supply. The exit or exhaust end 1| of pump 68 is connected by means of pressure pipe line 12 to a T-connection l3 provided in a hose coupling l -i. Coupling I l connects the manifolds 4| of the tanks l5 and Hi to the pipe line 12. The manifolds M of the adjacent tanks M and Il also communicate with the pressure line 12 through hose couplings l5 and 16 communicating those manifolds with the manifolds 4| of the tanks l5 and I5, respectively. Thus it will be seen that the line 12 supplies washing water to the various manifolds 4| and jet tubes 43 in each of the tanks l4, I5, i6 and I! under equalized pressure at the same time.

lhe outlet connections 64 of the various tanks hi to H, inclusive, comprising the second group of tanks, are connected to a suction line 1'! which in turn is connected to the suction end 18 of a second centrifugal pump 19 also directly connected to the electric motor 69. The outlet or exhaust end 89 of pump I9 is connected by means of a pressure pipe line 8| to a T-connection 82 in a hose coupling 83 whereby the fluid therein is concomitantly distributed to each of the jet manifolds 4| in the first group of tanks ID to 63, inclusive, through hose couplings 83, 91 and 98. The outlet connections 64 of the first group of tanks if; to l3, inclusive are connected to a drain pipe 84 through which the washing water is drained by gravity to the sewer. The pipe 84 may, however, be connected to the pipe line 56 to re-circulate the water, a suitable filtering apparatus (not shown) being provided to filter the impurities accumulated in the water during its passage through the various tanks in contact with the film.

A flow restricting valve 85 is provided in the pressure line 72 of pump 68 to restrict the flow of water therethrough and thus hold the water level in the third group of tanks l8 to 2|, inclusive, above the openings of the outlet connections M therefor, as indicated by the dotted lines 88. The provision of valve 85 insures a constant pressure on the water ejected through the various jet orifices in the jet tubes 43 provided in tanks I4 to IT, inclusive, by preventing air from being drawn through the suction line 66, such as would be the case if the water level 86 in any of the tanks I8 to 2 I, inclusive, dropped to a point in line with the openings of their respective outlet connections 64.

A second flow restricting valve 88 is provided in the pressiu'e line 8| of the pump I9 to restrict the flow of water therethrough and thus hold the level of'the water in the tanks I4 to IT, inclusive, also above the openings of their respective outlet connections 64, as indicated by the dotted lines 89, thereby maintaining constant pressure in the pipe line 6|.

It should be noted at this point that, through the interconnection of the outlet connections 64 l of tanks I4 to IT, inclusive, by the suction line I1 the water level 89 in these tanks, I4 to IT, inclusive, will always remain substantially the same. Also, due to the interconnection of the outlet connection 64 of tanks I8 to 2|, inclusive, by the suction line 66 the water level 86 in these last mentioned tanks will also remain substantially the same. 7

Since, in the illustration, the water removed from the tanks ID to I3, inclusive, is passed by gravity through the outlet connection 64' to the drain pipe 84 no valve is provided in the drain pipe 84. Therefore, the liquid level in the first group of'tanks It to I3, inclusive, will drop to a point opposite the lower edge of the openings of the outlet connections 64, as indicated by the dotted lines 89. These outlet connections 64 in tanks Ill to I 3, inclusive, thus become overflow 5; connections. It -wil1 be seen that the above mentioned provision of valves 85 and 8B in the pressure lines 12 and 8| permits a constant pressure to be maintained on the streams of water ejected from the jet tubes 43 in thetanks III, to H, inclusive, and also serve to prevent racing and consequent damage to the pumps 68 and 19 due to air passing through the suction pipe lines 66 and TI such as would be the case if the water levels 86 and 89 in tanks I4 to 2|, inclusive, were allowed to drop down to the level of the openings of outlet connections 64 in those tanks. Furthermore the provision of valves 85 and 86 permits independent control of the pressure of the water in the pipe lines I2 and 8|. If desired, a valve may be provided in the drain line 84 to control the level 89 of the water in the first group of tanks Ill to I3 inclusive.

A short pipe 93 communicates the tank ll of the second group of tanks with the tank I8 of the third group of tanks at a point adjacent the upper ends thereof. l

A second pipe 94 communicates the tank I3 of the first group of tanks with tank I4 of the second group of tanks for the purpose of filling the tanks.

As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 the handle 96 of the vave 63 in pressure line 56 is connected through a suitable link 9| toa switch 92 provided in the motor circuit II! of the pump motor 69. The link 9| and switch 92 are so arranged that the circuit IO will not be closed until the valve 63 is substantially in its fully open position.

When filling the various tanks after having been emptied the valve 63 is openedsubstantially half way, insuflicient to close the motor circuit T6. Thewater flowing through the pressure line 56 thus gradually fills the tanks I8 to 2|, inclusive, of the third group of tanks. After the water in tank I8 reaches the level of the short pipe the water in tank rises above the outlet open-x ing 64 of tank I! it fills the line IT and, through the various other outlet connections 64 connected to this line H, fillsthe remaining tanks I4, I5

and I6 of the second group. As the water in tank I4 reaches the level of the pipe 94, communicating tank I3 with tank I4, it will flow into the tank I3. On reaching the outlet connection 64 of tank I3, the water therein will flow through the drain 84 thus serving as an indicator that the apparatus is in condition for starting the motor 69 since the water level in each of the tanks I3 to 2|, inclusive, has reached a point substantially even or slightly above the outlet opening 64 and that the, suction lines 66 and H of the pumps 68 and I8, respectively, are full. The valve 63 is thereafter opened to its full extent thereby closing the switch 92 to start the motor 69 in operation. the various tanks obviates running the pumps 68 and I8 in a dry condition.

Although the invention has been described in connection with and is particularly applicable to the washing of motion picture film after it has been previously treated with developing, fixing and other solutions, it is to be understood that it may be used in connection with any film treating operation regardless of the type of fluid em ployed. Therefore, in the appended claims the term. film treating fluid is meant to include water or any other film treating fluid.

I claim: I

1. Film treating apparatus comprising a first tank, a second tank, a third tank, means for ,moving film treating fluid serially through said tanks in a certain direction, means for traversing film serially through said tanks in the opposite direction, said first mentioned means comprising a pump between said first tank and said second tank, a second pump between said second tank and said third tank, a motor common to said pumps, and a valve in circuit with each of said pumps and adapted to be adjusted to restrict the flow of said fluid therethrough to such a value as to maintain a substantially constant liquid level in said first and second tanks.

2. Film treating apparatus according to claim 1 comprising jet forming means in each of a plurality of said tanks for directing a stream of said film treating fluid against the film, one of said jet forming means being in circuit with the pressure side of one of said pumps and the other of said jet forming means being in circuit with the pressure side of the other of said pumps.

3. Film treating apparatus comprising the combination of a plurality of tanks adapted to contain film treating liquid, means for traversing the film serially through said tanks, an outlet for one of said tanks, jet forming means for directing said liquid against the film in another of said tanks, a pump between said outlet and said jet forming means, for passing said liquid from said first mentioned tank tosaid last mentioned tank, and means restricting the flow of said liquid through said pump whereby to maintain a substantially constant liquid level in said first mentioned tank.

4. Film treating apparatus comprising a first tank and a second tank, means adapted to pass a film through said tanks successively from said first tank to said second tank, means in each of said tanks forming jets adapted to direct streams of film treating fluid against said film in This manner of filling.

said tanks, means for supplying film treating fluid under pressure to the jet forming means in said second tank, and means for conveying said fluid from said second tank to the jet forming means in said first tank under constant pressure.

5. Film treating apparatus comprising a first tank and a second tank arranged to permit an elongated film to be passed successively therethrough from said first tank to said second tank, means for supplying film treating fluid to said second tank, means for conveying said fluid from said second tank to said first tank, said means including a pump, means for conveying said fluid from said first tank, and means other than either of said conveying means adjustable to maintain a substantially constant level of said fluid in all of said tanks.

6. Film treating apparatus comprising a plurality of film treating tanks arranged to permit an elongated film to be passed therethrough from one of said tanks to the next tank in consecutive order, means in each of said tanks forming jets adapted to direct a stream of film treating fluid against said film in the respective tank, means for supplying said film treating fluid to the jet forming means in the last of said tanks, an outlet connection for each of said tanks, a conduit connecting the outlet connection of said last tank to the jet forming means of a preceding tank, a pump for passing film treating fluid through said conduit from said outlet connection of said last tank to said jet forming means in said preceding tank, and means other than said outlet connection for said last tank for controlling the flow of fluid through said conduit.

'7. Film treating apparatus according to claim 6 compri ing a conduit other than said first men-- tioned conduit for communicating said last tank with said preceding tank.

8. Film treating apparatus comprising a plurality of film treating tanks, means for traversing an elongated film successively therethrough, means for supplying film treating fluid to a first one of said tanks, conduit means including a pump for conveying said fluid from said first tank to a second one of said tanks at certain times, an outlet for said second mentioned tank, a conduit connection other than said conduit means and connected between said tanks Whereby said second tank is adapted to be filled with said fluid from said first tank independently of said pump, said conduit connection serving to maintain the fiuid level in said tanks at substantially the same elevation when said pump is operating, and means other than said conduit means adjustable to control said fluid level.

9. Film treating apparatus comprising a series of film treating tanks, means for passing an elongated film successively therethrough, a second series of film treating tanks, means for passing said elongated film successively therethrough from said first series, an overflow connection for each of said tanks, means for concomitantly supplying film treating fluid to said second series of tanks, a pump, conduit means connecting the overflow connection of said second series of tanks to the suction end of said pump, conduit means connecting the exhaust end of said pump to the tanks in said first series, and means for restricting the flow of fluid through said pump whereby the fluid in said second series of tanks is maintained substantially above the overflow connections of said second series of tanks.

10. Film treating apparatus according to claim 9 comprising conduit means other than said aforementioned conduit means for communicating said first series of tanks with said second series of tanks whereby said second series of tanks may be filled independently of said pump.

11. Film treating apparatus comprising a first tank and a second tank, conduit means for supplying film treating fluid to said first tank, conduit means including a pump for conveying said fluid from said first tank to said second tank, means for operating said pump, a valve in said first mentioned conduit, and means responsive to said valve for preventing operation of said pump until said valve is substantially fully open.

FRED W. GAGE. 

